The Tale of Lightning Strike
by QueenNeen
Summary: The story of Aerrow's father, Lightning Strike. Rated T. Lightining Strike, Dark Ace


Jaceon and Celeste- parents of Ace. (The Dark Ace)  
Jaceon is also the father of Aerron (Lightning Strike). The older half-brother of Ace.  
Celeste is the older sister of the mother of master Cyclonis we know in the original series.

This excerpt that I have written is told from the viewpoint of Lightning Strike.

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Everyone knew dad was a traitor. It was all her fault, that _witch_. If it weren't for her, my family wouldn't be in the mess that it was in today. I remember the first time I saw her. I was five years old. Dad had come home from the war and brought his "friend" for a visit. I knew from the moment I saw her that she was a Cyclonian and that I didn't like her. I had learned from the academy that the Cyclonian royalty were dark haired, fare-skinned, and had very intense violet eyes. She had to be one of them, for she had all those features curtained by flowing long hair that cascaded down her back and around her thin waist.

Though still rather young, I was very confused as to why dad was bringing the enemy home. How naive I was; he stood close to her and though he tried to hide it, he smiled at her a lot and talked animatedly about everything and nothing. These actions didn't fool mom, not one bit. It made her nervous. That was the first time I remember seeing a frown on my mother's face.

The woman's name was Celeste, I soon learned. When my father introduced me to her, the tall woman smirked down at me over her ridiculously angular nose and told me I looked just like my father.

After that comment, Mom refused to let me be in the company of dad and this stranger, and she quietly ordered me to go play out of the house. As I rushed outside, I forgot the strange and confusingevents that had happened, and my heart beat wildly with anticipation as to what I might find in the yard. When I saw it, I knew it was still one of the most beautiful things I had seen in my life. Dad's skimmer was beat up, but still one of the finest rides of the skies. Its sleek and shiny surface was coated with bright red and blue war paint, the interior covered with soft brown leather. Oh, how I wanted it. But it belonged to my dad, the Atmosian hero. Somewhat grudgingly, I admitted that there was no one better to ride it. After all, my father, the Great Jaceon, was the creator of the Storm Hawks, the best team of Sky Knights in the Atmos.  
The Storm Hawks were legendary in their protection of the Atmos and their fight against the Cyclonians. My father had saved so many lives from the Cyclonians that everyone couldn't help but love and honor him. People would stop me on my way to school and tell me they were so grateful for my father and his actions and that I should be proud of him. Yes, I was proud of him. I knew that every time I saw dad leave to fight evil, I wanted to be just like him. To free the world of evil and to help those in need. I prayed that I would one day be able to take his place in the Storm Hawks and continue his legacy. And perhaps surpass him. Even from that early age, I knew that was my life dream.

But progress towards my dream was somewhat haltered as time went on. When I was ten, I remember one day coming home from the sky academy to find my mother crying at the table, head buried in her hands. It scared me. I had never seen mom like this before. I approached her carefully and asked her what was wrong. Mom was never one to let others know what was bothering her, but this time, she gave in and only had to whisper two words for me to understand what she was crying about. 'Your father.' She had said.

Indeed, it had been six months since my father last visited home. Whenever father sent letters, he explained that the war was fiercer than he had ever anticipated, and he was uncertain of when he would return. My first reaction to my mother's words was that my father had been killed in battle, but she reassured me that he was not dead. When I questioned her as to what happened to him, she only shook her head slowly, not saying a word. She then got up and went the master bedroom shutting the door quietly behind her, leaving me still sitting at the table dumbfounded. I had a suspicious feeling the woman, Celeste, was responsible for this.

As the years went by, and my father remained missing in action, I began to hear whispers at the academy. My peers and even my teachers began to question my father's allegiance. Among the rumors, some said he had be captured by the Cyclonians and brainwashed into siding with them. Others said that my father was sympathetic to their cause because he fell in love with one of them. Most would silence their gossip when I walked by, almost as if ashamed of being caught bad mouthing the Atmosian hero in front of his only son. I could feel their eyes bore into my back with pity, quietly voicing that it was so unfortunate that I had a traitor as a father. I would always ignore then and angrily moved past. I wanted nothing more than to hurt them. How dare they say such things about my father! It was not true, none of it. He would never side with Cyclonia; he was the best defender of Atmos and creator of the greatest sky team in the world! But my admiration for my father slowly began to falter under the pressure as those around me began to plant seeds of doubt in my mind. The one thing that I did not doubt was that I was to become greater than my father, and earn the respect of everyone. I worked day and night training and perfecting my skills to forget the cruelties being spoken about my father.

However, those few suspicions I had about my father soon became a harsh reality when I came face to face with my younger brother. I was 14 and just about to enter my own sky squad, when my father had come home from the war. My joy at seeing my father again was instantly extinguished when I saw that he was not alone. As he stepped down the ramp of the Condor, I saw a small figure following him timidly.  
My father greeted me warmly and told me he was proud to see me 'so grown up' and ready for skyhood. He proceeded to laugh, teasing that I would soon get to practice training with my younger brother, Ace who wanted to be a Sky Knight one day as well. He stepped aside to bring the small boy in view, and placed his large hands the boy's shoulders, gently propelling him forward to meet me.

He looked every bit of that witch, Celeste; his hair was just as dark as hers and his greasy bangs fell into his face over his crooked nose. There was no doubt in my mind that _she_ was his mother. But I was startled to see that he had my father's piercing brown eyes. My heart sunk. So the rumors were true then. My father had loved the Cyclonian woman and she had given him a son. I felt immense anger for my father: anger that he would betray the Atmos, my mother, and me.

Before I could protest against my father's wishes, he walked in the house to find my mother, leaving his two sons to share the uncomfortable silence with each other. I remember looking into the eyes of the young child and feeling furious for him as he stared up at me so innocently. Did the boy not know what he had done to my family? The boy shyly offered his hand for a shake, but I refused it, and stalked over to my school skimmer and started the engine. I needed to get away from there and think. I looked over my shoulder as I took to the sky, feeling a twinge of guilt as I saw the dust kicked up from my skimmer blast the small child in the face, forcing him to cover his eyes and cough severely. I shook my head, trying to erase my guilty conscience. The child of that Cyclonian monster didn't deserve to feel my pity.

Fortunately for me, I soon was one step closer to my dream. My father had allowed me to join the Sky Knights as a co-pilot-apprentice after my graduation from the academy. Unfortunately, I was forced to watch the brat of a half brother of mine tag along under my tutelage. I still hated the boy and refused to talk to him. Why couldn't he just go back to where he belonged? I remember the day before we left for our first mission at dinner I had asked my father why Ace couldn't stay with his mother. My father slammed his fist hard onto the table and told me to leave immediately. I remember hearing my mother trying to calm him down, but he refused to do so. She then politely asked Ace to leave as well, because his father and her needed to have a talk. I remember the instant the door shut behind my younger brother hearing the first fight erupt between my parents. My mother asked what was so wrong with me asking where Celeste was, and my father still did not answer. Where was she? She had asked him. She wanted to know why she was burdened with that woman's responsibilities, when she had her own son to look after. Why was that woman was not caring for her own child? She was so tired of not knowing what was going on, and most importantly, she wanted to know why my father had left her for that other woman. What was so wrong with her that made him flee from her and take to the arms of another woman? I had never heard my mother complain before, nor yell at my father like that, but I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. True, the moment Ace had shown up, my mother had taken him in without complain and cared for him like he was her own. She had shown him kindness where I had not. She never complained about the fact that her husband had son with another woman out of wedlock. She had patiently waited for the answers that never came. Now, this incident was the straw that broke the camel's back.  
My father argued with her, claiming that it was not her fault for all that had happened. He tried to explain to her that he had seen things that no one else in Atmos had, and he believed that he alone could unite the two forces of both Cyclonian and Atmos together because of his union with the Cyclonian royalty. Surely my mother though him as crazy as I did. What I heard my mother ask instead was whether he truly loved Celeste more than her. He quietly made the affirmation that he did, and my mother began to cry, begging him to leave. He promised he would be gone the next morning, and that he would take Ace and me along with him. My mother screamed at him that she didn't want her son to be in the midst of a traitor like him. My father shouted back that this was a secure path to my dream, and if she refused to let me follow it, she would be denying me what was in my best interest. Reluctantly, she agreed, and let me go.

I remember the next morning embracing my mother and telling her I would make her proud. My father merely nodded goodbye to her as if the quarrel the night before had never happened, and boarded the Condor with Ace the rest of his team. The team still revered Jaceon for his past deeds, status as a hero, and oath to protect him. But I could see they were uneasy now that they knew the truth with his dealings with the Cyclonians. I soon came to learn that the Sky Council felt the same as they did, but to lose such an amazing knight would be detrimental to their cause. My father begged them to go back to the skies and fight for Atmos. He argued that is where he said he truly belonged. The council tested him to see if he was lying, and after the conformation that he was not, they hesitantly allowed him back to the skies. The hero, Jaceon, was back where he belonged. I still didn't trust him though. But I was glad for my father's help to be stepping up in my rank towards becoming a sky knight.  
I remember seeing tears flood my mother's emerald eyes as she waved as we disappeared into the sky. I waved back, knowing that this might be the last time I would ever see her. I sighed and turned from the window and went onto the bridge where the crew was waiting. Whatever would happen in the future, I was ready for it, even if I had to put up with a bratty brother 6 years my junior and an estranged father. I was determined to show my skills to the Cyclonians and Atmos that I was a REAL Sky Knight. I wouldn't let anything get in the way of my dream.

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